Dear all
I wonder if you know of a good article that discusses good practice in research, not only in the lab, but also in how to approach a problem and how to deal with collaborative research.
I am faced almost every day with issues in the lab each time I make a new hire (even at the postdoc level) or deal with a new student:
1) how to make notes not only of the experiment but even during a meeting (many do not even bring a notebook and pen/computer/ipad or anything to make any notes)
2) how to do proper literature research prior to start working in the lab, and how to properly read a paper.
3) how to set up a new protocol and do a risk evaluation.
4) how to make notes on your labbook so that you can track back your work for publishing.
5) let's leave scientific writing out of the discussion, coz that is a completely separate topic on its own...
I am a bit tired of repeating myself, and would like to have a proper discussion around one or two sound papers that discuss the importance of proper note taking in our work. If anyone knows about such a material, please share the link with me ! I would be most thankful!
BTW, is it only me who feels this problem has become more acute now that before? I mean it used to be exceptionally some students who didn't have this type of knowledge before but now it seems the exception is to find one student who works well...
I'm afraid that you will have to write your own SOP. It's easier in the long run, because you can put everything people need to know in one document, and, of course, you can revise it when necessary.
With things like literature searching, everyone has their own favourite bibliographic software, and it's important for members of the team to keep their references in a common database, so these are not lost when the member leaves. This, again, is a local decision, and you need an SOP to enforce it.
You have the right idea : take control, keep everyone on track, co-ordinate the team. Alas, this pretty much means that as the person who calls the shots, you write an SOP.
mmh... thanks for the reply. I started with a document stating expectations and responsabilities, but I have actually never seen an SOP before (I will inquire with my manager about this). Do you have a good link that describes how to write this type of document for a basic research lab? If I google I find a lot about clinical work which is a bit different to what we do.
Marité Cárdenas – I would structure your own document using your own situation. You need to get some feature that will act as an overall structure. Maybe walking into the lab and talking a newbie through the place might be a way to start (obviously, talk in your head – doing it out loud gets you the wrong kind of attention. Don't ask me how I know this).
For instance, opening the lab door the first thing that I would mention would be safety. Followed by lab hygiene and working practices. Then widen into team work, responsibilities, formal structures, etc. Then the big picture : research practices, data collection and safety, paper writing, authorship. Lastly, personal development.
This kind of approach gives you widening circles from the utterly practical to the big picture. It also means you can get the basics and critical information written and distributed while you are working on the wider issures.
You might consider writing it in questions and answers. And – tip – address the reader as 'you'. It makes the connection between what they are reading and what they will be going explicit.
And I have a strong urge to end the document with an exhortation:
Now let's go scatter some neutrons!
Ronán Michael Conroy Thanks for the good advice, I think I found a way to spend the dead hours of this summer holidays! :)
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